The Atonement

Judex is a 1916 French silent film serial consisting of twelve episodes, directed by Louis Feuillade in 1916, from a screenplay by Feuillade and Arthur Bernède, and released in 1917. Immediately preceding the weekly release of each episode, Judex's adventures were serialised in the daily magazine Le Petit Parisien. The serial shows the exploits of Judex, a vigilante draped in a long black cape, who is sworn to revenge his family upon a corrupt banker. However, Judex falls in love with his enemy's daughter. Meanwhile, the adventuress Diana Monti and her criminal gang try to get Favraux's money. Judex was played by French matinée idol René Cresté, and Diana Monti was played by Musidora, who had caused a sensation in the role of the villainess Irma Vep in Feuillade's previous successful serial, Les Vampires. Judex was a commercial success upon its release, and Feuillade directed a sequel the following year, La Nouvelle Mission de Judex. The story has been remade twice with the same title, in 1934, directed by Maurice Champreux, and in 1963, directed by Georges Franju. The serial was the model for several episodic film series, and the Judex character was an influence on the creation of the later characters The Shadow and Batman.